Trigger-happy! This is one of the common criticisms fired at the Malaysian police, who detractors claim conduct extra-judicial executions of suspected criminals.

But now, the current police chief is accused of being Twitter-happy.

One of his recent victims, lawmaker Rafizi Ramli, believes that Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar has crossed the line.

“He must be careful,” said the PKR vice-president and MP for Pandan, adding that the IGP reminded him of his boarding school prefects.

“He is inviting ridicule from the public when he gives orders to investigate on Twitter. I remember how someone had described him as ‘Ketua Polis Twitter (police chief of Twitter),” he told Malaysiakini.

Rafizi (left), who is being investigated under the IGP’s orders for his tweet on Tuesday’s Federal Court on Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II charge, claimed that Khalid has got his priorities wrong.

He pointed out that members of the public are grappling with daily crimes as well as the influx of illegal immigrants, while the motive for the Altantuya Shaaribuu murder continues to be shrouded in mystery, besides there being numerous white-collar crimes that have not been addressed.

“So I am wondering what the IGP’s priorities are. Is he more concerned about policing cyberspace as opposed to real crimes?” he asked.

However, Rafizi said, if Khalid intended to monitor the virtual world on grounds of safeguarding racial and religious harmony, he must be balanced and not appear impartial.

A mission to inculcate fear in citizens?

“There are controversial and inciting tweets from Umno politicians and groups related to them, such as Perkasa and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma).

“Some of them spawn hate on a daily basis, not only against non-Malays but all against all those who disagree with them. So the IGP must be fair and haul them up as well,” he added.

Rafizi also wondered if Khalid’s mission is to inculcate fear and intimidate citizens with his Twitter policing.

“If he wants to use Twitter in order to be closer to the public and listen to them, that is fine. But issuing orders (to investigate) via Twitter gives the impression that he wants to intimidate private citizens.

A professional police chief, he stressed, should not use public space to create a climate of fear among the people.

“I get the feeling that he is trying to make examples so that the common man thinks twice. This is not good for the nation.

“We have an IGP who takes it in his own hands to be a cyber prefect,” Rafizi added.